Mimi ninatoka kijijini, lakini sasa ninaishi mjini.

Yes. In Swahili, ninatoka already includes the subject I because ni- is the subject prefix for first person singular.

So:

• ninatoka = I come from / I am from
• ninaishi = I live / I am living

Mimi is added for emphasis, contrast, or clarity. It is a bit like saying As for me, I come from the village, but now I live in town.

In many contexts, you could simply say:

• Ninatoka kijijini, lakini sasa ninaishi mjini.

Ninatoka can be broken down like this:

• ni- = I
• -na- = present tense
• -toka = come from / leave / originate from

So:

• ni + na + toka → ninatoka

In this sentence, ninatoka means I come from or I am from, not necessarily physical movement happening right now.

They are different verbs:

• ninatoka = I come from / I am from / I am leaving
• ninaenda = I am going

So in this sentence:

• ninatoka kijijini means I come from the village / I am from the countryside

It does not mean I am going to the village. For that, you would use something with kwenda:

• Ninaenda kijijini = I am going to the village

The ending -ni is a very common locative ending in Swahili. It often gives the meaning in, at, or sometimes to/from a place, depending on the verb and context.

So:

• kijiji = village
• kijijini = in/at the village, or in context from the village

And:

• mji = town / city
• mjini = in town / in the city

In this sentence:

• ninatoka kijijini = I come from the village / countryside
• ninaishi mjini = I live in town / in the city

By itself, kijijini is a locative form and can relate to in/at/to/from the village depending on the verb used with it.

The verb tells you how to understand it:

• ninaishi kijijini = I live in the village
• ninatoka kijijini = I come from the village
• ninaenda kijijini = I am going to the village

So the exact English preposition changes based on the verb, even though Swahili uses the same locative form.

Lakini means but.

It connects two contrasting ideas:

• Mimi ninatoka kijijini = I come from the village
• lakini sasa ninaishi mjini = but now I live in town

It often comes between the two clauses, just like but in English.

Here, sasa means now.

So:

• lakini sasa ninaishi mjini = but now I live in town

Be aware that sasa can also have other uses in conversation, such as now, okay then, or as part of greetings in some contexts, but in this sentence it simply means now.

Ninaishi is built like this:

• ni- = I
• -na- = present tense
• -ishi = live

So:

• ni + na + ishi → ninaishi

This means I live or I am living.

Yes, there can be.

• mji usually means town or city
• jiji more specifically means city, especially a larger one

So:

• mjini can mean in town or in the city, depending on context
• jijini would more specifically mean in the city

In many everyday translations, mjini is often rendered as in town.

Because Swahili often expresses location through the noun form itself rather than using a separate preposition like English does.

English says:

• in the village
• in town

Swahili often says:

• kijijini
• mjini

The -ni ending helps carry that locative meaning. So instead of a separate word like in, the location is built into the noun form.

Yes, absolutely.

You can say:

• Ninatoka kijijini, lakini sasa ninaishi mjini.

This is completely correct and natural.

Adding mimi gives a little extra emphasis, especially if you are contrasting yourself with someone else, for example:

• Mimi ninatoka kijijini, lakini yeye anatoka mjini.
  • I come from the village, but he/she comes from town.

In this context, ninatoka kijijini usually expresses origin/background: I am from the village or I come from the countryside.

Even though -toka can also mean go out / leave / come from, context matters. Because the sentence continues with but now I live in town, the most natural interpretation is:

• I’m originally from the village, but now I live in town.

So it is not mainly about a physical action happening at this moment.

The basic structure is:

• Mimi = subject pronoun
• ninatoka = verb
• kijijini = location/origin
• lakini = connector
• sasa = time word
• ninaishi = verb
• mjini = location

So the overall pattern is roughly:

Subject + Verb + Place, but + Time + Verb + Place

That said, Swahili word order can be somewhat flexible, especially when emphasizing something.

Yes. Depending on context, kijijini can be understood as:

• in the village
• from the village
• in the countryside / from the countryside

That is because kijiji means village, but in real usage it can also suggest a rural background or village life more generally. So this sentence may naturally mean:

• I’m from the countryside, but now I live in town.

You would change the subject marking on the verbs.

For he/she:

• Yeye anatoka kijijini, lakini sasa anaishi mjini.

Breakdown:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present tense
• -toka = come from
• -ishi = live

So:

• anatoka = he/she comes from
• anaishi = he/she lives